


Magischola - The Early Years

by yukikun13



Series: Andrew Leibel - NWM [1]
Category: New World Magischola (Live-Action Roleplaying Game)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-06-22
Updated: 2017-06-22
Packaged: 2018-08-08 00:46:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 5,311
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7736515
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yukikun13/pseuds/yukikun13
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Prose of certain events from the first few years of Andrew at Magischola. Features some characters and relationships that he made, but is mostly centered on his development as a character and how he has aged/matured in the past two years.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The First Night

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Andrew's first night at Magischola was interesting, to say the least. But he never expected the whirlwind that was Margeary Aguilar.

##### Setting: Beginning of Magischola. Andrew's first year. Term start.

Andrew shut his door and leaned against it. His palm stayed stuck to the doorknob and his eyes stayed focused on the floor. He knew it was there, even though it was pitch black in the room. He was silent for a moment before he took a deep inhale in and released in the same noisy fashion.

What a night.

He hadn’t expected tonight’s celebrations to be so… _Exhilarating_ and _tiresome_. He had only been at Magischola a few hours and already he was starting to see the true forms of the other houses. And, in the same token, he was already starting to see less of Gaia than he liked. He was lucky that he had other acquaintances that were slowly filling up the cracks. His mind bounced around between remembering events that happened tonight and trying to remember all the names of the people he had met. 

Adrianna McCoy. A teacher’s aide for Alchemy… He would have that class. He’d get to know her. She didn’t have a tie on, which meant she was a first year too… So how did she get the gig? How was she already that skilled and connected to the campus to secure that spot as a first year? 

She was smart. She knew her way around her words and was skilled enough to lure Margeary away without causing a scene. She threatened upperclassmen indirectly by mentioning the Tribunal. 

She was cute. He had noticed _that_ right away. 

Margeary Aguilar… She had definitely been more flirtatious than he had expected nearly _anyone_ to be with him. Sweet. A nice smile and laugh. Kind. A hint of danger.

And she had kissed him.

He paused as he recollected her fingers on his cheeks before she pulled his mouth to hers and kissed him. It wasn’t soft like the cliche movie kisses where they are marshmallow tender. It wasn’t possessive or hard, like the kisses in movies when the love interests have been separated for fifteen years but they have always loved each other and then finally meet in the middle for the passionate kiss they’ve been waiting for over nearly two decades. It was… Somewhere in the middle. Fast without the tenderness. Nice without the heat and passion. 

Andrew started to chuckle, which then turned into full-blown laughter. 

When the hell did he get to be an expert on kissing?

After all… Margeary had been his first. 


	2. Those Who Flock Together

##### Setting: Beginning of Magischola. Andrew's first year. 3 days into term start.

His entire body was full of nerves. Excitement and anxiety had culminated into an intense form of adrenaline. His tie was fastened proudly against his throat, maybe even a bit too tightly, but he didn’t care. He could _feel_ the green as it seeped into his skin. In a matter of seconds, from hearing his name called to hearing his house announced in the deep bass of the Chancellor’s voice, Andrew felt his entire body and soul swept away on the wings of the bird house, and as a chorus of mis-matched caws exploded from the right side of the Chapel, all he could do was beam and look out proudly at his new housemates, at his new family, while they welcomed him with outstretched fingers that waved. They were applauding him silently while welcoming him vocally, and as he took his tie, he squeezed it tight within his hand and nearly launched himself off of the steps to join his house before he wrung it tight around his neck.

But now was different. Nerves were of a different caliber as he walked with the rest of the first years that had been inducted into Dan Obeah. Some he had managed to talk to during the Open Houses that were held the night previous, but most of the faces were unfamiliar. Margeary had been sorted into Laveau, which seemed almost too prissy for her. Adrianna was in Du Bois, which wasn’t surprising. She had said she would be regardless. Gaia was in Calisayla. Andrew hadn’t been naive enough to think that he and Gaia would be sorted into the same house, especially after Primaschola, even though there was a small sting knowing that they weren’t together again. 

He was alone, but somehow surrounded by people that would be his new family. And they led him into the house common room. It was pitch black, lit by candles in a loose circle. Black feathers were strewn around the room, a small table in the middle that was bordered by pillar candles. The air was cold. Andrew shivered, feeling the chill cascade down his arms and prick every hair up. He turned his head and looked to the left to find the form of a ghost breathing through his body. It explained the chill and inspired another to rustle through him. 

One of the house presidents, a tall male with a crooked nose and thin glasses that rested on the bumpy bridge, turned in front of the house that had walked behind him and the other co-president. “Welcome, Hatchlings.” He had a smile that was visible through his eyes, and it made Andrew grin as if he had been hexed. “Tonight, you have been sorted into our house. You will join our nest, grow within its comforting embrace, and, at the end of the year and your time at Magischola, spread your wings and fly.” Andrew felt pride blossom through his chest. Three years was a short time, but he was already anxious to spread his wings and learn all he could _to_ get to that point. “Dan Obeah stands for freedom, for justice, but in a different way than your Du Bois counterparts will. Your wisdom will enable you to see situations from a different angle, and, hopefully, to use that for the greater good.”

Andrew watched as his presidents exchanged a glance. “To your left, there is a podium with tokens. Starting with the first years, and ending with the third, you will choose a token that speaks to you. We will then continue with our ritual, explaining while we go.” The presidents looked at the group of first year, and Andrew felt another shiver wreck his spine. 

When it was his turn, after a few first years took their token, he picked up a small sphere, faintly translucent but mostly opaque, a deep blue color. He rolled it between his fingertips, faintly wondering why he had chosen it, and waited with the other first years until the rest of the house had picked their tokens. 

They were led to the circle. As soon as they stepped inside, Andrew felt warmth cover his arms. Beneath the robes, he felt almost _too_ warm. “You are now protected by a seal, a seal stronger than the one that surrounds Dan Obeah. This protective seal will protect you even in the case of extreme distress,” the other president was quick to explain. Andrew looked at her with a curious look. She was also tall, taller than the other president. She had long blonde hair and a headband that held her bangs away from her face. “You will place your talisman into the center, upon the magic seal. You will include a wish for this year, or a goal, of what you would like to change. This can be something within yourself, or something for the world or the school, whatever you would like. Once we have all placed our wishes in, we will summon the spirit of Tituba, the shape-shifter who gave our house life, and you will confront your changes that you want to create, and face them head-on.” 

Andrew’s eyebrows dug into his eyes, but he said nothing. This seemed… A little weird, even for the magical world. “A part of your soul will be released within the token to do this, so it is imperative that you do not break focus. Breaking focus could resolve in your losing consciousness.” This made Andrew focus a little more, relieve the stress on his eyebrows, and look nervously towards the center of the circle. The flames on the pillar candles flickered in front of him, casting amber shadows within the depths of his near-black eyes. “Let us begin.”

Andrew was thankful he was towards the middle of the circle. As the presidents started, and rotated through clockwise, he had ample time to watch and learn as the upperclassmen went through the ritual they had done in the year, if not years, before. When Andrew’s turn came up, he rolled the sphere between his fingers some more. It slid against the convex arch of his inner thumb. “... I want to learn from the others around me, and to see the problems that affect this world from another viewpoint.” he said, after a moment, and walked towards the small table. There were ten other tokens spread out against a faded green cloth, and Andrew placed his down somewhere near the center. He felt a sensation of weakness as his fingers lifted from the marble, and as he backed up, there was a change. He felt as if his breath was now linked with the brother on his right, along with the rest of the circle that had already spoken. This feeling continued to grow whenever the next Raven deposited their token within the center of their common room, and once they were completed, Andrew felt as if his chest had become ten times heavier. It was heavy with the weight of those around them. Of importance.

A swirling black suffocated the room. The candles that were around the exterior of the room extinguished, the pillars the only ones that remained lit. They began to glow with a harsh green light, ethereal, and smoke wove in a tight circle before a hooded, spirit-like figure hovered in the air before them. Andrew couldn’t pry his eyes off of it, this hooded figure, and waited to listen to it. But it said nothing. The presidents were looking, though, and nodding their heads. So did the others, when they were looked at by the spirit. When it became Andrew’s turn, his head was filled with words: hatred, love, fighting, peace. His head was filled with lies and truths, with facts that counter-acted everything that Thunderbird had taught him. _This_ was the knowledge that he wanted to learn… And _this_ was part of the tools that he would use to change the world. _‘... I’m ready to hear them, even if they’re ugly.’_ The spirit continued to accost him with these thoughts, but they grew softer, and, after a moment when Andrew could have _sworn_ he saw the spirit nod, it turned from him and the voices faded immediately. 

He stood there dazed. His body felt numb and heavy. He breathed in the aura from the rest of his housemates, the gravity that pressed on him, no doubt, pressed on them as well. The pressure wasn’t released until both of the presidents came forward and picked up opposite corners of the cloth, pulling them together to the center and tying them. The spirit disappeared, as did the sense of weight upon Andrew’s body, and he took in a deep breath. How long had he been holding it? 

“This is our gris-gris.” She spoke as if nothing had happened. “This is our lucky talisman, and this will protect us and bring us luck towards our aspirations for the next year.” She crossed the room, curling the bag into her abdomen protectively, before she placed it on a podium in the corner of the room. She regarded it for a moment, quietly, then turned to the house again. 

“Welcome, new members of Dan Obeah!”

A chorus of caws surrounded him. And in that moment, he was bonded. 


	3. He First Noticed Her in Alchemy Class

##### Setting: Over the course of Andrew's first year at Magischola.

He first noticed her in Alchemy class.

That was when he noticed the blue-feathered earring that daintily floated off her right ear, hanging from a thin gold loop that circled around the top and held it in place. The feathers always fell right against her shoulder, and it was nice, in a way. It reminded him of home. He liked how they looked. 

He liked how _she_ looked. 

He liked her smile, and the crooked way that it curved her mouth, and how sometimes it seemed like she had different smiles for everyone. There was the polite, easy smile that she gave to anyone that passed her way. And then there was a different one. He saw it whenever she laughed, or whenever she was surrounded by her Bears. While both smiles had the same amount of warmth and integrity to them, he just liked that second smile… Better. Maybe it was the brevity in which he saw it, like a prize that was being held just barely out of his hands and dangled in front of his reaching fingers, that made him want to see it more and more often. 

He liked how she didn’t seem to walk or run, but she sort of glided. She had a bounce in her step and the way she floated above the walkways was something to be admired... Giddy. That was it: her pace was _giddy_ with every step. 

He liked how even when she was sad, her focus was never on herself. She always looked to everyone else’s happiness. 

He liked the depth of her eyes. 

He wasn’t sure when she first started to float into his mind. It was sometime during their first year, when he watched her and waited for some sort of amusing behavior to pop up during their joint Alchemy class. It had taken him a while to get used to her antics, but sometimes he found them fun… Plus, whenever one got a little dicey, she smiled, and he was a sucker for that smile. 

He quietly took in little details about her. Their conversations were always brief, but they held a quiet intensity that felt almost like embers smouldered beneath his breastbone while they spoke. She was fun, but flighty. She had too much on her mind and was wanted by everyone. She was involved in school politics as soon as she started dating one of the Unsoiled heirs. He listened while this relationship went on, and then it was broken. And he waited, patiently. 

He would flick little paper footballs at her during class. ‘ _You’re beautiful when you smile_ ,’ they would say, or ‘ _Lion dollar if you laugh._ ’ Sometimes he got that laugh, and lost a shiny metal coin in the process. Other times he got a smile, and at the beginning it was that polite smile, the nice smile. Until, sometime, and he wasn’t exactly sure when this changed either, it was a warmer one. It was one that lit up her entire face, that made her skin nearly glow, and when she looked at him with that smile that reached into her eyes and warmed the blue irises like sunlight on the sky… He melted. 

That was how he first started falling for Azra Bloom. 


	4. Shut Up and Dance

##### Setting: Andrew's second year. The mid-year formal.

Purple lights flicked over his entire body in an erratic rhythm that bumped with the music overhead. The lighting and sound charms for this year’s mid-year dance were amazing, like always. Blending in the dark with the rest of the crowd that was swaying to the music, Andrew was overly aware of the taste of his drink as it trickled against his tongue. He felt warm and fuzzy from the fizz while it slid down his throat. His ears were nearly deafened by the music, but he enjoyed the mixture of popular mage songs mixed with, surprisingly, some Mundane classics. These were amusing to watch as Unsoiled members, particularly the first years but sometimes the second and third, were taken off-guard as the tunes that took over some of the student body were found to be unfamiliar to only them. 

Andrew’s drink was returned to the table. He kept the goblet close, hooking his fingers around the stem. His eyes were focused on the dance floor, on the couples that were mingling and the friends that were bouncing in their own little clique groups. Some professors lingered by the outside of the room along with some students who, like Andrew, were merely observing. Some were partaking of various appetizers. Most were sitting. Andrew was the one slouched over a tall-top, elbows of his black shirt leaned against the gray tablecloths. He’d gone for black-on-tan look this time around, less formal, with a blue tie fastened around his neck. He was probably one of the most casually dressed mages at this ball… But that didn’t really bother him. He was comfortable. 

“Hey.” 

Andrew refocused. In front of him was… ‘ _Oh shit._ ’ Azra. His heartbeat turned into an off-tempo metronome against the music. A clumsy smile twirled its way onto his lips. “Hey,” he said back, even though he could feel his body going numb with nerves. His left hand tightened on the inside of his right forearm. 

“How are you?” 

He laughed lightly. “I’m good. You enjoying yourself?” he asked her back with warmth. Her arms pulled in and she shrugged. Her fingers gently played with her earring over her right ear. 

“Yeah. I’m having fun dancing and stuff.” 

“Well, that’s good,” Andrew said, nodding, and looked back at Azra. She had her hands wrapped around behind her back now. Her body swayed from side to side a little, shoulders rotating on her core. The movement made her light blue dress sway with a gentle wave. Then, in a straightening movement that stopped her whole body, she looked at him. 

“Do you want to dance with me?”

Andrew tried to keep the stupid surprise off of his face, but he felt his eyes widen and his jaw start to slack and nearly drop. “Y-You want to?” he asked, and apparently that was something right to say. She grinned at him, the _good_ grin, the one that was sort of cocky and completely adorable, the one that he was a sucker for. 

“If _you_ want to.”

Andrew paused, taking time to breathe, and then let his fingers loosen from his goblet and his body straighten as he walked towards her. “I do,” he said, quiet but sure. This brought out a wider, brighter grin from her as a light drifted towards them. It lit her smile with a purple light before dissipating into the air again. Andrew reached his hands out and gently took her palms within his fingertips, feeling their cool temperature against his before he walked to the side and turned, leading them into the dance floor. 

He had been watching her dance on and off all night. It wasn’t hard to be captured by her and how she commanded the floor with any partner. It wasn’t just her beauty, but it was her skill on her feet and how she managed to make it look so fun and effortless while giving Andrew some severe nerves at the same time. How could he keep up with her?

It was time to find out. 

As he lifted her left hand in his right, Andrew said shakily, “I’m, uh… I’m not really good at this.” 

Azra let out a tiny laugh and shook her head. The feathers on her shoulder shivered. “We’re just dancing. You’ll do fine.”

“Easy for you to say, you look amazing out here,” Andrew scoffed, rolled his eyes, and started. He had been taught how to dance by his father, but dancing with Gaia (particularly when she got taller than him) and his mom were different than dancing with someone who could _really_ move and whose impression of his dancing skills held some weight. Azra was easy to respond to him. They moved in a small area back and forth, and Andrew got more confident the more they moved.

“So,” she said curiously, and he raised his eyebrows at her, “You’ve been watching me?”

Andrew’s jaw dropped. He felt hot. His entire _face_ could have lit on fire. A violet light fluttered too closely to his eye and he jerked his head a little reflexively. “I… It’s kinda hard _not_ to… You’re…” He paused, then finished quietly, “You’re beautiful… And make it look so easy.” She laughed, and he finished, “Rather than me. I look like an elephant trying to move.”

She rolled her eyes at him. “Shut up and dance with me, Andrew.” 

His eyes widened with surprise. “Shut up, huh? That’s not very polite, Azra.”

Her blue eyes glared warmly. “Well, if you don’t dance with me nicely now, you won’t get a second one.” 

Andrew felt more heat in his cheeks, but smiled. His grip on her hands tightened a little. “A second one, huh?” _Everyone_ at Magischola knew what that meant. Azra smiled nicely, that easy and cute smile. Andrew grinned. “I better shut up then.”


	5. Andrew's Favorite Place

##### Setting: Andrew's second year. A week after the mid-year formal. 

“Come with me!” he says. His hand is wrapped around hers, the side of her hand nestled into his palm as he pulls her to follow him. They are running in the near-black night, the campus lit by the magical lighting charms that serve as both protection from and light in the darkness. The sky is neither blue or black but a subtle gradient in between, the last remnants of light casting a gentle blue just along the horizon while the rest of the sky already shimmers with tiny fragments of stars. They cross from manicured campus pathways onto the roughage. The grass and fallen leaves beneath their feet rustle with every quick shuffle that they take. Azra’s giggle behind Andrew, along with her slight panting as she tries to keep up with him, is all that he can hear over the rampant beating of his heart. 

“Andrew, where are we going?!” she asks him. Her voice is that shrill, high pitch that it catapults into whenever she is intrigued and excited. He doesn’t have to look at her to know that she has a wide grin on her face, the dangerous kind that is so earnest that he isn’t sure whether he loves it or is scared of it. 

“Just come on!” he encourages, and he continues to pull her forward. Across campus they go, almost to the common rooms. At this time of night, well before curfew, they could run into any student. Any student that would want to impede their time with each other, whether it is a study buddy of Andrew’s or a housemate of Azra’s. Or the reverse. They are wanted by many and for right now, for this _one_ moment, he needs to have her to himself.

They skirt beneath trees that burn with auburn colors. He continues to lead her down a beaten trail on the side of campus, dangerously close to the Forbidden Forest. He hears her hiss behind him, “Andrew, we’re not supposed to be here.” She has no care for this rule, but she knows he does. And oh, does he _know_ that this is dangerous. Students in the Forbidden Forest is _not_ an okay plan. If they’re caught, they are busted, _big time_ , and the thought of breaking any rules and getting caught is not only unappealing for his personal taste but also because it is breaking the core rules of Dan Obeah. 

One. Forget the rules. (This is really meant to forgo against societal norms that _should_ be changed.)

Two. If breaking the rules, don’t get caught. (This is self explanatory.)

“Okay, okay, stop,” he says, and slows his jogging pace. He’s panting and a little sweaty around the base of his hairline. He turns and looks at Azra, and then takes his free hand and covers her eyes. He holds his hand there, while she giggles and tries to wiggle-worm against his palm, and he gently guides her forward with their clenched hands so that he’s walking behind her. “Keep your eyes closed,” he says, and pulls his hand from her face. He, instead, takes her other hand. He crosses her arms in front of her stomach and holds her tight to his body, making them walk like penguins, which makes her giggle even more. Andrew doesn’t need to see her face to know how wide her grin is, or how hers matches his perfectly. 

After a minute, he stops and holds her tight. “Do you trust me?” he asks, and feels her nod. Her hands squeeze against his. He wheels around her body again and coaxes her down a long set of stairs, gently aiding her down while her eyes are closed. “No peeking,” he says, and she smirks dangerously again. She was totally going to peek. His thumbs are pressed against her fingertips, leading her like he was teaching her how to walk: carefully and slowly.

When they stop, they are in the center of the amphitheatre stage. Moss coats the stone that surrounds them and creates the masks for the staging. The grass is longer here, more natural. Fireflies dance around them. The trees are still their luscious green color, untouched by the natural effects of nature thanks to some elemental magic. He’s had help from Dan Obeah to set this up. “Okay… Open.” 

He watches as neon yellow lights dance against her blue eyes. The large amount of fireflies is barely enough to light them to each other, but the way that she smiles is like sunshine anyways. Her hands continue to squeeze around his fingertips, and she’s looking around at all of the fireflies. “There are so many of them!” He chuckles and grins at her exclamation. She’s in awe. She’s surely seen fireflies before… But somehow nature always makes her so… Happy, like she’s never witnessed anything like it.

“This is my favorite place on the whole campus,” he says quietly. He rocks their arms back and forth, swaying them gently between their bodies. He’s watching her as her eyes come back to him. “I wanted to share it with you.” 

She shoots him a polite smile. Not too polite, a little warmer than that, but definitely not her enamored grin that she normally sends his way. He’s being serious, though, and not his normal carefree self that he was three seconds ago either. “It’s beautiful. I can see why it’s your favorite.” 

Andrew smiles. “I wanted to bring you here because I want to share _more_ beautiful things like this with you…” These are words that he’s practiced, but he’s still nervous. He’s got an edge to his voice that betrays him, an insecurity. He’s planned this but the performance has yet to be completed in front of Azra and _not_ just his bedroom mirror. But she’s still looking at him and she’s still smiling. “... Azra. You make me a better guy than I have ever been… And I feel _alive_ when I am with you… Like I can _breathe_ and feel all the air around me.” She smiles a little more earnestly. He does too. His thumbs squeeze her fingers into his, and he releases her left hand. He lifts his wand from his pocket and swishes it in the air with a few words. The fireflies start to gather, and after about ten seconds, he watches as Azra’s eyes read over what they have joined together to ask about ten feet away.

“Be my girlfriend?” 


	6. Fair

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Andrew has never gotten his heart broken. And when he does, he only knows one person who can listen to him.

##### Setting: Andrew's second year. One week until term end.

He walked on auto-pilot. His mind and his senses were dulled. He felt fuzzy. He could, very well, have been hallucinating. Maybe he was hexed. Yeah, maybe. Or maybe this whole reality that he slumped through was _actually_ happening and he couldn’t escape it. 

A week before school was out and Azra had ended their relationship… For what reason, Andrew had _no_ clue. What had she said? “It’s not you, it’s me…” 

_‘Yeah right.’_

“I have to do this to protect you, Andrew…”

_‘Why won’t you just_ **tell __**_me what’s going on?’_

He silently continued to argue with the memory of Azra in his head. She wouldn’t change her answers, of course, no matter how he tried to retrospectively go back into their past and change the outcome of their last five minutes. It was done. He and Azra walked away from each other, and Andrew led his body and its awkward saunter back to the dorms and, finally, knocked on one door.

Adrianna’s disheveled head poked out of the room after about a minute. It was late. She had probably been asleep, judging from the way that she was in her pajamas, her hair was tangled in a curly nest, and she was pressing her glasses higher on her nose. “Andrew?” she asked, looking at him. Her gray eyes were squinted, probably adjusting to the light from the torches in the hallway. “It’s the middle of the night. What’s wrong?” She didn’t yell at him, which was a relief, because Andrew was already starting to feel his chest collapse. 

His brown eyes looked at his friend, and in a matter of seconds, his hard exterior started to crumble and reveal the less-controlled, broken sense of self that Andrew had been hiding on his walk back to Jeter Hall. “A.. Azra broke up with me…?” he choked out, his voice high, almost pre-pubescent. Fragile. 

Her face slowly made a realization. He could see how the gears in her head started working together, and it was as if his announcement, as pitiful as it was, forced her to wake up. Andrew’s molars pressed together painfully tight. Adrianna opened the door to him and, in a quick second, she wrapped her arms around his neck as he buried his face into her right shoulder. Sadness, pity, the dismal emotions added to his own as he tried unsuccessfully to keep his sobbing at bay and started to cough cries into Adrianna. Although physical touch was never forbidden between them, since he had found out about her empathetic ability the previous year, he had made it a goal to _never_ touch her unprovoked. He never wanted to be like the other students who bombarded her with unwanted emotions. 

But he had to admit that, right now, having her hold him was comforting as he felt like he was falling.

“Do you want to talk about it?”

She was careful with her word choice, like always. Adrianna was always careful and sensible about her words. Andrew gripped her tighter and shook his head slowly against her shoulders. Her pajamas rubbed into his closed eyes. “I’m sorry…” he mumbled, “I know it’s late, I just didn’t know what to do an--”

“Andrew, stop.” His mouth shut and his hands gripped onto the back of her pajamas. One of her hands pressed against the back of his head. He felt calm and cool, like water was slipping down the back of his neck, and breathed a small sigh into her chest. “It’s fine.”

He realized. “Don’t…” Andrew started, “Adrianna, please…” A pause. He felt her breath hold in her chest and the tension in her back increase. His knuckles tightened against her clothes. They were now locked in a battle, and he felt his emotions gently coming back to him, his unease, his discomfort, his anxiety, and, finally, his pain. 

“I was only trying to help.” Calm and careful.

He held her closer. His fingers relaxed so he could press his palms against her shoulder blades and fully hold her. “I know… It’s not fair to you.” She absorbed his emotions and he was left happy, without suffering, but she was left suffering for him. He could never ask that of her, ever. 

She was already the best friend he ever had. 


End file.
